


The Legend of Abigail Mills

by SmutFairy



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: A lot of damn angst guy, F/M, It Might Take a While, Slow Build, Smut, So much angst, but I will get there eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-04-06 01:55:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4203519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmutFairy/pseuds/SmutFairy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ichabod tormented by his feelings for Abbie sits in his cabin frustrated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He'd probably kissed her a thousand times in the furtive recesses of his mind's eye. The fine details of his imaginings kept shifting, the texture of her lips, the placement of her hands, but of course no matter how well he constructed her metaphysical portrait it would always disassemble, unstable in it's making and origins. Ichabod stared out the window as he sat at his writing desk, his hands poised upon a blank page. He hadn't even picked up the pen before his dreams of her overtook his intention to pen a few stirring thoughts.

The sound of rumbling thunder abruptly interrupted his reverie. Somehow, in the time that he'd sat down to the present hour, the sky had changed from a clear blue to a pregnant grey. He quickly headed to the window and made sure check that the glass pane had been securely shut. Abbie probably wouldn't approve of his use of candles to light the room (as it was a fire hazard), but he missed the gossamer light that left long shadows and shrouded the empty unfamiliarity that surrounded him. Ichabod sighed, the quiet was welcome too. 

He was a man unsettled in a unsettling time. It was difficult (more times than he liked to admit) to deal with how the world had changed. The machinations! The understanding that the sciences had grasped in the time that he'd slept! It was overwhelming, even for a person with his aptitudes. Of, course there were other things that hadn't changed... 

The only real constant was his growing friendship and fondness for Miss Grace Abigail Mills. Fondness, indeed! Ichabod smiled to himself. The lieutenant was a wonder. And he thanked whatever preternatural force it was that had brought him to her. Never could he have thought of encountering someone so kind, strong, compassionate, true, someone so...so singular in their goodness that it honestly confounded him at every occasion!

Abbie confounded him quite a bit. She also excited him as well. In her presence, he felt his heart swell and at the same time it would be the only instance that he truly felt he was at ease. Even in the face of grave danger. She need only give him an assuring look, and he knew all would be well.

Which is why he'd sat down at his desk, to write the letter in the first place. Over the last few weeks, Ichabod had become aware of the intensity of his feelings, that they surpassed that of friendship, and that he truly desired companionship from Abbie. He'd tried to tell her in the most delicate language how he felt but it seemed that he'd come off as quaint instead of heartfelt and romantic, and Abbie had brushed off his advances as over-friendly praise. 

He had chided himself for days for that mistake, of course an extremely formal compliment wouldn't indicate his emotions in this day! He was at a loss. He was sure the answer to his problem was simple, but he was frightened. The formalities of this time were still new to him, and his sensibilities had yet to adjust. And with these mixtures of emotions Ichabod Crane became a very lost and distraught man.

Tortured by love, Ichabod Crane continued to mope in his empty cabin. His misery, feeding his over dramatic nature into a spiralling mess.


	2. Of Letters and Promises

Ichabod busied himself in the archive. There were always more books to read, cyphers to discover, riddles to… un-riddle.

His mind still hadn’t sobered, he’d written his letter, made his peace with his emotions, he’d even prayed. This wasn’t a first love, nor was it his second, but he was overwhelmingly convinced that _this was it_. The very strength in the idea that he needed to be with her frightened him.

_Rrrrrip!_

Ichabod looked down to see that he’d torn the delicate pages from a large tome. His hands flew down to the pages covering them, concealing his shameful crime. He slouched and sniffed, what a pitiful sight he must be, stuck in a dank little room, with only moldy books for company.

He slammed the book shut and stored it back on the shelf, he could deal with it later.

He’d written the letter approximately a week ago, and he’d kept it in the breast pocket of his coat. Every time he’d move his arms, he could feel the paper crinkle slightly, he could feel its weight, and its shape and size pressing into his chest. It felt particularly heavy today. He pulled it out, his eyebrows drew together as he slowly removed it from its envelope and unfolded it. He set the envelope to the side, and shuffled through the pages. He’d chosen thick and durable paper and he’d been careful in his writing, the slant and the character behind his penmanship was infused with feeling.

It was a few pages long, outlining how his affection for her had grown and his hopes that he was not alone, or perhaps there was the potential for reciprocity? His eyes fixed on the last passage

“ _I love you, Abbie, it is you I love._ ”

At times, reading his own words made him want to vomit. _Why had he used so much metaphor? Why couldn’t he get to the point?_ He was sure it was only a matter of time before he began striking entire passages from it out of self-directed spite. But, these last words only ever gave him peace, this final declaration was his truth.

Abbie unceremoniously walked into the archive, she had in hand a bag, which Ichabod hoped contained donut holes. He recomposed himself quickly, shaking his head, and straightening his posture, he couldn’t dispose of the letter without looking suspicious so he simply stood with it in hand, and greeted the Lieutenant.

“Good morning, Lieutenant.”

“Good morning, Crane! I got you something.”

Abbie walked up to him, she slowed her pace dramatically, looking up at him playfully and tilting her head to the side as she opened the bag to produce a - muffin!

She must have seen the excitement in his eyes drop.

“Now, Crane, I know it’s not what you’re usually into, but I thought that you might like to try something more… whole grain, and…apricot.”

Ichabod raised an eyebrow and sneered at the offering with feigned disdain.

“How could you, Abigail!”

Abbie smiled.

“Just eat the damn, muffin Crane.”

She pushed it into his one free hand, her eyes fell upon the letter now clutched to his chest. There was a brief moment where he saw her eyebrows raise, and her mouth opened only slightly, but when her eyes met his, she seemed to change her mind. Her expression reverted back into the cheerful smile from only a moment ago. She apologized with her eyes, _your secrets are your own_ , she seemed to say, but a word hadn’t passed between them.

Ichabod quickly shoved the letter back in his breast pocket with one hand, while he took a bite out of the muffin from the other.

“It’s been pretty quiet lately, Crane. What have you been doing down here these days.”

The moping, and sighing, and page tearing and subsequent book-hiding, flashed in his mind.

“I’ve been, uh, trying to organize. Lieutenant, it’s much easier when we’re in crisis if all the information is most efficiently accessible.”

The muffin was very good, Ichabod sighed, taking another bite. Abbie had her back turned to him, inspecting something on the table before turning back to him briskly. Ichabod used that moment to shove the letter back into the breast pocket of his coat.

“Ichabod, have you been able to get out? Meet people? Have some fun?”

She looked at him, her eyes wide with concern.

Ichabod opened his mouth to answer, trying to gesture with what was left of the muffin, but he found he had no answer for her.

Abbie walked towards him, her hands behind her back, she couldn’t seem to look him directly in the eye. Her eyes were fixed on one of the lapels of his coat. She reached out to straighten it. The soft touch from her fingers, so close to where the letter was sent a warm flush to his cheeks and neck. She was right there, what would it take for him to do something?

Abbie broke away from the moment, stepping back and resuming her more aloof posture.

“Would you like to have a movie night with me? We could take a load off, have dinner a beer? Discover a new realm within the cinematic arts together?”

She said mimicking him slightly at the end. Ichabod felt himself smile, and watched Abbie do the same. For a moment the world was a perfect and beautiful place.

“Sounds wonderful, Lieutenant.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Abbie cut the engine to her car, it rumbled in protest and was still. The air in the woods was fresh and brisk. She made her way to the cabin with a case of beer in one hand and a couple of DVD’s in the other. Ichabod had promised to cook dinner.

Abbie was nervous, it was a silly feeling that she tried with all her might to swipe aside and discount, but it kept bubbling back up to the surface. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling, just that it had grown exponentially since the time she’d left the archive.

That morning when she’d gone to meet Crane had started out like any other, light banter and breakfast food, she could always rely on him for that, it was their _thing_.

That was until she’d seen the envelope on the desk. The words flashed behind her eyes _For Abigail_ written in long scrawling letters. The paper was wrinkled slightly, she could see the corners were beginning to wear. The handwriting was unmistakable, maybe a little more stylish than his usual. And the words? “ _For_ Abigail,” not “ _To_ Abigail,” and he’d written _Abigail_ not Lieutenant, or Abbie; there was something oddly intimate about it. The facts that she could be sure of were that 1. Ichabod had written some lengthy piece 2. Lengthy letters often contained confessions of a certain kind. 3. She’d watched Pride and Prejudice enough times to know what that was all about. Abbie felt her face flush for what felt like the thousandth time today.

When she entered the cabin, the savoury scent of onions, garlic, and rosemary wafted her way. Her mouth began to water instantly, Ichabod hummed a tune, while he sprinkled salt into what looked like sauce.

Ichabod looked up from the pot to welcome her in.

“Welcome, Lieutenant!”

Abbie walked over to him, trying to decipher whether or not she should ask him about the letter. She opted for not, as he seemed very much focused on his cooking, which he did with an almost giddy fervour. She smiled placing the beers on the counter.

Did she want him to love her?

At this point it couldn’t be anything other than love, they’d gone beyond “like” already, two people spend this much time together get to know their ins and outs and the only question left between them is whether or not they love each other.

Abbie simply smiled at Crane, trying to conceal how torn she felt inside.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..

The dinner plates and cutlery lay dirtied and deserted on the dining room table, evidence of a meal well liked. They’d taken desert and the remaining beers to the couch where they were settling in for the second movie of the night, _When Harry Met Sally_.

Abbie sat on one side of the couch with her feet folded under her, cradling a bowl of cherry ice cream, Crane sat upright engrossed in film, he held his bowl with just the tips of his fingers like a waiter, he held his spoon just at the edge of the bowl, indecisive as to whether or not he was going in for another bite. Abbie loved these moments, she cherished them, she could live them forever.

It only took 5 minutes before Crane chimed in with his usual objections.

“Men and women can’t be friends? What a preposterous idea!” Crane exclaimed loudly, clinking his spoon against the side of the bowl.

Abbie rolled her eyes and let out a hearty laugh.

“Just watch, Crane.”

She tried to pay attention to the movie but she kept turning back to look at Ichabod. Why did he seem so obnoxious to her now? Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan had met each other for the third time, this was her favourite part. This was where it began to get _good_. Ichabod was shoveling spoon after spoon of ice cream into his mouth, he missed at one point and he got it in his beard, he unceremoniously wiped it on the back of his sleeve, still transfixed, did he even blink? She tried to pay attention as best she could, when she couldn’t pay attention to the movie she became extremely interested in her ice cream. And when she was finished with her ice cream she returned to fixing her attention on to the movie. And where did she put her beer?

Abbie repositioned herself on the couch stretching her legs out so that she didn’t fall off as she went to pick up her beer bottle from the floor. She resettled and eased back into the movie. It was funny, she’d seen this movie only dozens of times and every time she couldn’t help but get sucked into it, would Harry and Sally ever realize that they loved each other?

Abbie was drawn out of the movie again when she felt Crane’s hand on her foot. He’d finished his ice cream too and now he leaned into the couch, looking more relaxed. At first, it seemed that he had brushed against it accidentally, but his hand was still there on her foot, warm and demanding all of her attention. She tried to focus, Meg and Billy were talking about sex fantasies, and Crane’s hand was still on her foot.  

Meg Ryan started moaning.

The spell was briefly broken, Ichabod, straightened pulling his hand away from her foot and returning his attention to the movie.

Abbie sat confused for a moment, was-was this Crane making a move? Abbie sat slightly intrigued, and most definitely interested. Her pulse had begun to quicken in the brief moment that Crane had made contact. A flash of warmth coursed through her body.

No. No. No. Most probably, no? She felt a little devious, there was a sure fire way to figure out whether or not there was something going on, but of course Abbie was not going to do that. Communicate? Like and adult? No. No. No.

She scooted lower down into the couch so that her feet reached his thigh. She stayed like this and waited. She let her toes press into his pant leg slightly. The cloth from his pants was soft, she could feel the heat from his thigh radiating from him. Was it radiating? Or was she simply losing her mind at a clearly platonic game of horizontal footsie?

She felt his hand on her foot again. Warm. His Thumb caressed each one of her toes. This felt incredibly-

Wrong?

Bad?

_Naughty?_

It was foot holding! How much more fucking innocent could it get? Ichabod was still glued to the television. The light from the screen flickered across his face, his expression unreadable.

Suddenly, he lifted her feet and placed them on his lap.

Abbie was still as if she’d been frozen in ice or locked in stone. _What was happening?_

“Abbie, are you comfortable like this?”

He sounded apprehensive, unsure.

Abbie nodded silently. She turned back to the movie, and they stayed like that for a while.

It was New Year’s Eve, Sally and Harry were looking for one another. God! Would they make it?

Abbie feeling comfortable, and playful, wiggled her foot a little. Ichabod pressed his thumb into the arch of her right foot. It sent another surge of warmth through her body.

She let the front pad of her foot brush gently against the inner side of his thigh.

It was Ichabod’s turn to freeze.

The credits were rolling, and they were both silent.

Ichabod didn’t seem disturbed, or overly bothered so she risked another go, brushing again.

The strength of his hold on her foot increased a fraction for only a moment, and relaxed again.

He wasn’t looking directly at her, his eyes were lowered but he had his head tilted her way, one of his hands trailed up her leg.

She was more deliberate this time, her toe went from the inside of his knee, to the highest point of his inner thigh. That’s when she felt it. Hard, hot, and other than the containment of his loose fitting trousers it was, in fact, quite free.

She sat up, untangling herself from his grasp and trying to make sure to keep her eyes on his face, but her eyes involuntarily flitted down to his groin for just a moment. _Lord have mercy._

“Uh, Crane?”

He leaned in, so that his lips were right by her ear.

“I love you Abbie, it is you I love.”

Abbie leaned back so that she could look him in the eye. She searched his face, unsure of what she was looking for. She felt the words echo in her mind for an eternity, she could feel the pain behind them. It was a lot. She was right. And-and-and…

Her gaze settled on his lips. _Abbie you want this_ , a little voice said.

“Crane, I…”

She haphazardly pushed him back into the couch. The air seemed to have been knocked out of him for a moment, he hung his head slightly.

Abbie bunched his shirt into her fist, and pulled herself so that she was straddling him. _Better, this is a better position to do this in_.

Ichabod jolted back into a more upright position, his hands flew instantly to her hip, dragging her forward slightly, and the slight friction that movement caused sent another wave of electricity through her.

She grabbed the sides of his head. Tangling her fingers in his hair.

_I want this, Ichabod._

She heard herself whisper.

She pressed her lips against his lightly, and pulled away quickly to see his reaction. His fingers came to rest under her chin, pulling her back down towards him. He kissed her again, opening his mouth and sucking on her bottom lip. She felt him breathe in deeply. She’d inadvertently begun to rock against him. Sending little _frissons_ and shivers down her spine and hopefully down his as well.

His other hand which was still on her hip moved to squeeze her buttocks. It was a little rougher than she would have expected from Ichabod-Mr-I’m-So-Smart-Crane. But it only made her bare down on him harder with her legs.

She opened her mouth, to deepen the kiss. His movements were already frantic.

He broke from her, his chest heaving and his eyes, unfocused and dazed.

“Abbie, I-uh, Abigail… we…”

Abbie slowed down her movements a little, in their frenzy she’d torn open his shirt she could see the beginnings of his chest hair. Her gaze fell down to his pants, again. It was still there, as hard and as insistent as before.

She let her hand fall to his chest and then lower.

“You know, we could help each other…”

She could hear him exhale deeply.

She grabbed one of his hands and placed it at her waistband.

She watched him unbuckle her pants and loosen them so that he could get the right leverage.

Her breath hitched a little when she felt his bare fingers reach her, she was slick, and he rubbed quickly and with exact roughness Abbie liked. She wanted to let her head fall back. She gripped his shoulder for purchase.

She was getting there, her breaths were coming quick now, she bit her lip. And! And, and, a n d…

Ichabod lost his rhythm. It was just a fraction of a second off, maybe he was getting tired. Abbie cursed internally as she felt all that build up fizzle, and suddenly dissipate before her. She looked into his eyes, she saw his only desire was to please her, to make this first time perfect.

“Ichabod, uh…”

“Yes?”

“Um, you mind if we slow down a bit?”

Ichabod stopped moving immediately, she saw him try to hide his disappointment, she put her arms around him and kissed his cheek, resting her head on his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Crane, not every time is going to be perfect.”

“Abbie, is there something I could have done better?”

She giggled into his neck, his arms came to wrap around her.

“No, Crane, but next time, we’ll work on it.”

She felt his ribcage shake.

“Sounds like a promise, Lieutenant.”

“It is a promise, Crane.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH.MY.GOD. I am so so sorry friends. I didn't forget, I just had to wrestle some real life things, and I am back for now. It's too bad that I'm coming back at a time like this, because I thought I'd be celebrating Ichabbie canon by now, hell, I thought we'd be celebrating a surprise Ichabbaby by now?
> 
> Joking aside, I hope that things get to be fun in the fandom again, I hope that I'll be able to come back and write for you guys again, because I love you all, and it's been a lot of fun getting to know you guys aaaand I hope it's okay that I ended this chapter this way. 
> 
> MUAH! <3<3<3

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I hope you liked it! I am a huge nerd who likes discussing things so if you wanna nerd out, I invite you to!


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